Recently, Hideki Kamiya, co-founder of Clovers studio and producer of Bayonetta, shared his views on Sony's impending phase-out of physical game discs. Although Kamiya now purchases only digital versions of games and understands the industry's trend toward full digitization, he urges rights holders to take responsibility for game preservation.
"I no longer buy any physical games; all the games I acquire are digital versions. Seeing Sony's decision, my thought was: well, this is probably the direction the industry is heading."
Hideki Kamiya stated that the real crisis is not the disappearance of discs, but that a large number of classic older games become completely unplayable on new devices due to hardware iterations. Regardless of whether through physical or digital means, rights holders must ensure that older games are left for future players, with the inheritance of gaming culture taking priority over the format of the medium.
"As everyone can see, there are now a large number of classic older games that simply cannot run on modern hardware. I hope IP rights holders will recognize this issue and continue to bring these older titles to future generations of players. This is not just about the act of playing; it is also about gaming culture, ensuring that it can be passed down and continue to grow. Therefore, for me, the key point is not whether games are released in physical or digital form, but that the games themselves are preserved."
Hideki Kamiya cited Hamster's arcade port collections as a positive example. He also admitted that physical collectibles possess unique humanistic value; he treasures an original FC cartridge signed by Satoru Iwata, an experience that will be difficult to replicate in a purely digital age.
Kenji Koyama, another founder of Clovers, also lamented that the emotional experience of collecting physical games and browsing through physical game cases is something hard to let go of. The Video Game History Foundation has also issued an appeal, stating that the industry needs to find viable solutions for the long-term preservation of games in the digital era.